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<title>AITA for tricking people into bettering themselves and others? by Neila_Nuruodo</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052429">AITA for tricking people into bettering themselves and others?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neila_Nuruodo/pseuds/Neila_Nuruodo'>Neila_Nuruodo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AITA - Freeform, Gen, Humor, Mock-Reddit post, Non-traditional Story Format</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:02:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>626</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neila_Nuruodo/pseuds/Neila_Nuruodo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:</p>
<p>Despite not being truly <em>alive,</em> certain individuals have made strident complaints against my methodology to try and improve the world. As such I thought I should at least entertain the possibility that I might just be the “asshole” in this messy situation.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>AITA for tricking people into bettering themselves and others?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>posted by u/AngelofTruth2</p><h2 class="title heading">AITA for tricking people into bettering themselves and others?</h2>
<p>I [24kM] have invested a large amount of my personal time and magic into my attempts to repair this damaged star, only to be misunderstood, reviled and hated for my hard work. My colleagues and I face slander, misinformation, even outright attacks upon our persons for simply attempting to improve the fates and existences of each soul upon this star. Each of us has sacrificed all we have, all we <em> are </em> in pursuit of our mission—not for our own gain, but for the sake of <em> all </em> mankind. We are forced to use subterfuge, to disguise ourselves and blend into the general population, to face opposition from the <em> very people </em> that would benefit from our efforts—and all the while we but have the best interest of others at heart.</p>
<p>Maybe I should start at the beginning.</p>
<p>Once upon a time, everything was nice and wonderful and good. Then things went wrong, but the people in charge stopped the bad stuff and figured out how to fix it all. Before they could fully <em> implement </em> their fix, though, some other people created what essentially amounted to a giant hammer and smashed the not-quite-fixed problem into a bunch of smaller and still-not-fixed problems. They named this hammer Hydaelyn. No, not the <em> planet. </em> I mean the false goddess.</p>
<p>As it happens, only three escaped that particular blow, to include myself. So we have taken upon ourselves to prime the conditions needed for the Ardor, so these smashed-off bits can be drawn back into the Source, making everyone upon it stronger, wiser, better, and so forth and so on.</p>
<p>To be clear, <em> we </em> do not ourselves force this to happen. We make the necessary arrangements, we hand mankind the tools, the knowledge. We allow them to decide whether or not they wish to move forward—in essence, will they be selfish or selfless? So far, they’ve chosen selfishness seven times out of seven. That’s hardly on <em> us. </em></p>
<p>The practical upshot of this is that, each time selfishness wins, humanity is made more complete, closer to the perfection that once was, and—surely, <em> surely—that </em> much closer to choosing <em> not </em> to opt for selfishness next time. And we Ascians move one step toward finally cleaning up the absolute <em> mess </em> that Hydaelyn made.</p>
<p>So I ask: am I the asshole in this situation? Some have claimed as much, yet I think that our aims are noble. What’s more, we cannot carry the blame alone; many and more mortals eagerly accept the power we offer them, always with the intent of doing harm to their fellows. And yet some persist in demonizing us, even though they fail to understand this world’s true history and origins.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To summarize for the feeble-minded: I manipulate circumstances so that greedy and selfish people have the option to cause this world’s broken fragments to rejoin, thereby making them—well, the survivors—smarter and stronger. Am I the asshole here?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Edit: <em> You </em> call them calamities. <em> I </em> call them rejoinings. And if you can't appreciate your souls growing more complete, then at least you should be grateful that you can do magic half-decently now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Additional info: Yes, this is what caused the Void. No, it wasn’t intentional. We didn’t want it. In fact, we tried to stop it, and then to reverse it when that failed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Edit 2: Really, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. Why would I ever have expected sundered life to take any responsibility at all for their actions? You are, of course, free at any time to decline to work with us, or opt not to follow our advices. Perhaps after a few more rejoinings you shall even have the wisdom to do so.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Remember to use <strong>only one</strong> judgement in your comment.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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